Hobby-horse



(No Mb r i l.)

, M. BOHLIG.

HOBBY HORSE.

110.293.139; "Patented Feb. 5,1884.

aw. @XMM N. PETERS Phamlimngraphor. Wnhingmn. D C,

. To all whom it may concern UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

MARTIN BOHLIG, or nnnuoun, Iowa.

HOBBY-HORSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,139, datedFebruary 5, 1884.

Application filed December 18,1883. (Xo modelJ Be it kn'ownthat I, MARTIN BOHLIG, of Dubuque, in the county 'of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hobby-Horses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of this invention is the production of a hobby-horse which will be attractive to children, and afford at the same time a healthful and amusing exercise; and the principal novelty therein consists in the arrangement between the body proper of the horse and the base, which is supported on wheels, of a sloping board hinged at its lower front end to the base and at its elevated rear endto the rear of the body of the horse, with a spiral spring interposed between the front of the body of the horse and the front of the sloping board, and another spiral spring interposed between the rear ends of the sloping board and the base, all as and for the purposes and in the manner particularly hereinafter described and claimed.

For the better comprehension of this invention, attention is invited to the drawings connected with this specification, in which Figure 1 represents an elevation of the hobby-horse, when not inuse, in plain lines, and in dotted lines as it would appear when ridden and moving forward; and Figs. 2 and 3 are modifications of the same.

In the drawings, A denotes the horse proper, shown in the cheapest form of construction, with a fiat body, a, at the rear of which the seat is maintained by a wire guard, a; but it is evident that this horse may be made more life-like in form and construction, provided it has a proper adaptation to be hinged to the sloping board B, hereinafter mentioned, and may have a saddle and bridle. This sloping board B is hinged at its upper rear end, I), to the rear end of the body of the horse proper, and at its lower front end to the front end of the base 0. A spiral spring, D, is interposed between the front ends of the horse proper and this base, and a similar spiral spring, D, .is interposed between the rear end of this base and the rear end of the sloping board B, and this base, if desired, may be cut away at the sides, so as to allow the feet of the rider to touch the ground. The base is suitably mounted on wheels 12 E.

' succession of small leaps.

If desirable, and for use of larger children, thehobby-horse may have two sloping boards hinged to each other and springs above and below the hinge and intermediate'between the rear endsof the sloping boards, as shown in Fig. 2; or the sloping board may have a greater inclination and the" springs arranged nearer the center, as shown in Fig. 3.

For very small children the body of the horse may have a railing all around, so as to prevent the child from falling off, and, indeed, a variety of mechanical adaptations may be made to make the hobby-horse more attractive, as well as more suitable for indoor use.

It is manifest that instead of the sloping board any proper equivalent may be used, the essential features being the hinged connection at opposite ends and springs between different planes.

The operation of the sloping board is as follows: If the rider sits near the rear end of the horse, with his feet upon the base, by allowing his weight to depress most greatly the rear spring, D, and allow this spring to return again quickly to position, then the horse, if on a slight descent, will spring forward, and thus motion is had forward by a The same result follows if the riders feet are upon the ground. If the rider sits at the center of the horse and both springs are equally depressed, then there is simply the up'and-down motion, like that of the rider upon a living horse. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein is 1. In a hobby-horse, a sloping board interposed between the horse and its supportingbase, and hinged to both, and springs interposed between the horse and the sloping board, and between the sloping board and the base, substantially as described.

2. A hobby-horse having one or more slop ing boards, with hinged connections to the horse and the base, and springs interposed between the boards and the horse, and between the boards and a base supported upon wheels, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAKLES FOOKLER, MONROE M. CADY. 

